A young couple, on the brink of exchanging vows, faced a devastating tragedy when their vehicle was struck by a deputy traveling at nearly 100 mph. This horrific accident resulted in the death of the fiancé and left the bride-to-be with severe and lifelong injuries.
The collision took place on September 6, 2025, in Calimesa, California, a community just beyond the eastern outskirts of Los Angeles. Gavin Hinkley, aged 21, was tragically killed, while his fiancée, Madeline Fox, aged 20, sustained critical injuries that have left her with permanent brain damage. She now faces the daunting challenge of relearning fundamental skills such as speaking and basic motor functions.
In response to this tragedy, the families of the victims have initiated legal proceedings. On April 30, a lawsuit was filed in Riverside County Superior Court targeting Deputy Glynn Wilburn. The suit claims that Wilburn showed gross negligence and reckless behavior while driving the patrol car involved in the incident.
The legal documents assert that Wilburn’s actions were directly responsible for Hinkley’s untimely death and Fox’s severe physical and mental trauma, which has also caused her immense emotional suffering.
At the heart of the accident, Hinkley was behind the wheel of the couple’s Tesla, intending to make a left turn at an intersection. Unfortunately, Deputy Wilburn, responding to a dispatch call, was traveling at an alarming 98 mph down a two-lane road, barreling directly toward the couple at the moment of impact.
As he did so, Wilburn, who was responding to a dispatch, was heading straight for the couple while plowing down a two-lane road going 98mph.
The deputy attempted to brake and turn his patrol vehicle just before the collision but was still going 72mph when he hit the Tesla, according to the lawsuit.
The court filing largely cited the findings of a California Highway Patrol report on the crash, which included pictures of its aftermath. The photos show the Tesla’s broadside and the front of the patrol vehicle completely mangled.
Gavin Hinkley, 21, was killed, and his fiancée, 20-year-old Madeline Fox, was left brain-damaged after a deputy crashed into them just weeks before their wedding
Fox will have to relearn basic motor skills and how to speak. She is pictured being embraced by loved ones, who recently filed a lawsuit against the deputy, Glynn Wilburn
The lawsuit heavily cited a report on the crash by California Highway Patrol, which included this photo of the mangled front of the deputy’s vehicle
The report also included this photo of the destroyed broadside of the Tesla the couple was driving. The deputy was allegedly going 72mph when he t-boned the couple’s car
Spencer Lucas, an attorney representing the families of the victims, told the Los Angeles Times, ‘There’s no excuse for a cowboy cop to be barreling down a two-lane road through a red light.
‘He was driving so far in excess of what would be reasonable,’ the attorney added. ‘This tragic crash was completely preventable.’
According to a GoFundMe set up by Fox’s family to pay for her medical expenses, the 20-year-old suffered fractures to ‘her eye socket, jaw, rib, hip, pelvis and lower spine.’
She also ‘had internal injuries to her spleen requiring surgery, a punctured lung and a laceration to her face leaving a scar.’
‘All of these injuries are horrific in themselves but on top of them, Madeline has suffered from Traumatic Brain Injury, requiring long term care,’ the family added on the fundraising page.
‘She will need to re-learn everything, from a simple task of learning how to swallow again to basic motor skills.’
Riverside County, Southern California Edison, American Medical Response of Southern California and the cities of Calimesa and Beaumont were also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The court filing alleged that Southern California Edison bore partial responsibility for the crash because some of its equipment on the side of the road prevented Hinkley from seeing the approaching deputy.
The lawsuit accuses Deputy Wilburn of causing Hinkley’s death and Fox’s grief and emotional distress. The couple is pictured before the crash
Fox also suffered many fractures, an injury to her spleen that required surgery, a punctured lung and a laceration on her face. She is pictured getting rehabilitation treatment
California Highway Patrol released this graphic breaking down the crash. The couple would have gotten married the next month
The lawsuit accused American Medical Response, a private ambulance company, of treating the deputy’s far more minor injuries before tending to the young couple trapped in the car’s wreckage.
Beyond the civil lawsuit, Deputy Wilburn may also face criminal charges. The Riverside County District Attorney’s office has said that an investigation is ongoing.
On October 25, 2025, the planned date of the young couple’s wedding, Fox’s friend posted a touching tribute on Instagram.
‘Gavin, you and Madeline were supposed to be married today. This post should have been one full of wedding highlights and photos, not this,’ she wrote. ‘On a day that was supposed to be full of love and laughter, it is full of grief and heartbreak.
‘I should be hearing your voice as you joke with your best man and groomsmen and try not to cry as Madeline walks down the aisle in her beautiful dress. This is not how today was supposed to go,’ the friend added.
Fox’s family also posted that day and wrote: ‘Today is supposed to be one of the happiest days of Gavin and Madeline’s life but instead they have been robbed of it due to reckless driving by someone who is supposed to be protecting and serving.’
